


Fate tell me it's right (Is this Love at First Sight)

by Mooresomore



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 06:01:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11571849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mooresomore/pseuds/Mooresomore
Summary: The dark blue heart had been present for as long as Mitch could remember. He’d been able to narrow it down to a few teams (he secretly hoped it was Toronto, since they were his home team and all); he couldn’t help but be a little jealous that he didn’t know for sure where he was going, like his friends Connor (who had an Edmonton orange heart) and Dylan (who had Arizona red on his wrist).





	Fate tell me it's right (Is this Love at First Sight)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is complete and total FICTION. That means it never happened and is completely untrue. In fact, this is so far from the truth that it isn’t even in the same country as the truth. I don’t own anybody, and I make no money off of this. I am not in any way implying said characters’ sexual identities. 
> 
> If you are, or know someone in this fic, run away now. Please...
> 
> Title stolen from Heart's "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You".
> 
> This is a fic I wrote when I was *supposed to be* writing my last nursing school paper. (Senioritis much? LOL). Not beta'd, so all mistakes/errors are all my fault.

The dark blue heart had been present for as long as Mitch could remember. He’d been able to narrow it down to a few teams (he secretly hoped it was Toronto, since they were his home team and all); he couldn’t help but be a little jealous that he didn’t know for sure where he was going, like his friends Connor (who had an Edmonton orange heart) and Dylan (who had Arizona red on his wrist).

He was on a Skype call with Dylan and Connor when he blurted out the quest that was on his mind.

“What do you think it is gonna be like when we’re drafted?”

“I don’t know.” Connor said. “I hope fun.”

“Oh please, you’re gonna be Mister #1.” Dylan teased. Connor blushed, and Dylan laughed. “But, yeah, I just wanna be drafted. I don’t care where or what round.”

“Me either.” Mitch agreed. “I kinda wanna know what team though.”

“It’s going to be Toronto.” Connor and Dylan said at the same time.

“But there’s lots of teams with blue in their logo.” Mitch protested.

“Trust us.”

“See you dorks in a week.” Mitch said.

“Yeah.”

***

The draft was here, and as predicted, Connor went first overall to Edmonton. Dylan went third to Arizona, and “ _With the fourth pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs are proud to select of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, Mitchell Marner”._

 _Toronto!_ Mitch couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. This was a dream come true.

“Told ya!” Dylan said when he and Mitch finally caught up.

“Congrats.” Connor added as he joined them, ready to guide them to the next media station.

They were finally able to make it back to their hotel rooms, and Mitch went over to Connor’s, only to already find Dylan there.

“You’d think you two were soulmates by how much time you spend together and your uncanny knowledge of one another,” Mitch laughed, watching as both Dylan and Connor flushed, “But you guys aren’t on the same team though, so.”

“Shut up.” Connor said.

Mitch was the first to get his initial coming in; the area inside his heart lit up and burned as the letter ‘M’ was carved into the center of the heart in blue as well. Then Dylan’s came in, a ‘J’ in silver ink. Finally, Connor got his- it was a blue ‘L’.

“Roster searching?” Dylan suggested.

“Nah.” Connor said. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“I gotta agree,” Mitch said, “I’m tired.”

“Fine, you lazy fuckers.” Dylan laughed. “See you in the morning.”

“Later.”

Mitch made his way back to his room; his curiosity got the best of him, and he pulled up the Maple Leafs roster. His eyes closed before he could even scroll past the first two names.

***

In the morning, the first rounders were forced to sit though ‘Soulmate 101’ and were told that even though their initial had come in, it might not mean the player was on the same team at this time.

“If it’s light, it means they haven’t been drafted yet.” Connor, Dylan, and Mitch looked at their wrists.

“I’m a cougar. Well, coyote.” Dylan teased, as Connor laughed.

Mitch’s was already fully darkened, meaning his mate was in the league.

“You always did like em older.” Dylan teased.

“Shut up.” Mitch hissed. Connor just rolled his eyes; his was fully darkened too.

The speaker continued. “When you meet your match, your hand will be feeling like it’s going to fall off. That’s the bond setting. It should pass quickly. To fully complete the bond, you must touch your marks together.”

Connor looked over at Dylan and Mitch. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I need a drink after that. Triple strength coffee?”

“Yes please!”

They drank their coffee in silence, and when the draft was over, they went their separate ways. They still kept in touch.

***

At the recommendation of the team, Mitch had been keeping his mark covered unless he was at home. He wasn’t going to complain either; the last thing he needed right now was a distraction.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t looking and wondering though. He’d scrolled through all the players with the first initial ‘M’ on the NHL website, and he’d picked a top 10 list (just to be a douche about the whole thing- he knew Connor and Dylan were doing the same thing).

“Give me the rundown. What’s it like being the next Gretzky?” Mitch asked Connor when they were Skyping that night.

“Lots of fucking pressure.” Connor said. “They’ve been helpful though. How are things in Toronto?”

“Awesome. I love it here. I think we’ll actually have a decent team this year. If I stay up, cool. If not, I got one more year in juniors.”

“Yeah.” They made small talk until Mitch asked, “Any news on the soulmate front?”

Connor blushed. “Uh, yeah. I found him.”

Mitch laughed. Leave it to Connor to be “Mr. Overachiever” and jump right into finding the guy. “Ok. Spill.”

“It’s Draisaitl.”

“The German guy?”

“Yep.” Connor grinned; his smile reaching his eyes. “He’s amazing. He noticed the mark first and stood closer to me. That gal wasn’t kidding. I felt like my hand was being chopped off with an axe for a minute. Then it stopped, and I saw it glowing. Leon’s was too; he grabbed our wrists and placed them together. It felt like lightning going through my veins. We pulled back, and I noticed he had that stupid star thingy I always sketch beside my initial on his wrist. I now have a small smiley face by his “L”. It’s weird man. Like, I wasn’t expecting to find him that quick.”

“Cool.” Mitch said. He couldn’t help but feel a little jealous; he wanted to find his mate and have that moment. “Is he as intense as he seems?”

“More so.” Connor said. “Let me tell you…”

“Don’t need to know about your sex life!” Mitch teased, trying to break this mood he could tell was settling in.

“Oh, shut up.” Connor laughed. He stopped talking for a minute. “You call Dyls yet?”

“No. Gonna after I talk to you. I miss chirping him.”

“Yeah.” Connor said. There was this look on Connor’s face that Mitch couldn’t place. He was about to say something when Connor said, “I gotta go. We’re doing some team-bonding shit tonight, and… can’t be late.”

“I know.” Mitch said, not missing the unspoken ‘Leon and I’ in there. “Have fun. Keep in touch, yeah?”

“Of course. You too.”

Mitch hung up and then tried to call Dylan on Skype. He needed to see his ugly mug and chirp him; Mitch needed _something_ to remind him that things weren’t as different as he was imagining they were.

Dylan’s away message popped up; Mitch left a message for Dylan to get ahold of him when he could, then Mitch went to do the only thing he could think of in this situation: sleep. If he ignored the outside world, he could still pretend he didn’t have a soulmate who wasn’t on his team.

Mitch was just waking up from his self-pity snooze when Dylan Skyped him.

“Hey.” Mitch couldn’t help the smile that crept on to his face; he really liked Dylan (after they’d worked out their differences).

“Hey. How’s it going?”

“Good. I like it here. You?”

“Eh, it’s ok.” Dylan said. “I think I’m gonna get sent down again though. To Erie.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Mitch, they have a lot of good players.”

Mitch hated this, when Dylan talked like he wasn’t just as good as everyone else. “Dyls, you’re good too. You gotta believe it man. You went third in the draft. That means you’re pretty damn good.”

“Yeah.” Dylan smiled, but Mitch knew he didn’t fully believe what Mitch was saying.

“Any news on the soulmate front?” Dylan switched subjects.

“No. The Leafs want me to keep it blocked during practice. You know, just in case.”

“That’s stupid!” Dylan exclaimed.

Mitch agreed; even though he didn’t want the distraction, he wanted to know if the person was already here. “I know. But, it’s like, a new rule- everyone’s doing it here. Apparently there was an issue last year or something.” He chuckled, remembering the story he’d been told about Jake Gardiner and Morgan Reilly crashing into each other on the ice and flopping like fishes as their bond sealed (and hence the “mom” and “dad” jokes). “And there was William Nylander pretty much stalking Joffrey Lupul only to find out his mate was Bernier.” Mitch finished. “So, they’re a lot more cautious about it now- during our ‘personal time’, we’re cool to look, but on ‘team’ or ‘ice’ time. Makes sense.”

“Yeah.” Dylan said. “Oh, and I’m sure Bozak and Kessel had something to do with it too.”

“Yeah.” Mitch said. Seeing Tyler so mopey was weird.

“Ok, enough depressing talk.” Dylan said. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Mitch launched into a few practice stories, Dylan added a few of his own, and it was just like old times.

Dylan didn’t mention anything about his own soulmate, and Mitch didn’t ask; he wanted to keep the good mood they had going.

Finally, they hung up, and Mitch felt better than he had in a while.

In the end, both Mitch and Dylan ended up getting sent back down to their junior teams (London and Erie, respectively); when they played each other for the first time, they met up. There was a lot of small talk; they did bring up their soulmate searches (both were still striking out), and then Dylan suggested they call Connor.

When Connor answered, he wasn’t alone; Leon was there too. Mitch was about ready to hang up, until Leon said, “No, I want to meet these two crazy guys Connor always talks about.”

They talked, and Leon turned out to be a nice guy; he was definitely the perfect fit for Connor. Still, Mitch couldn’t help but feel a little bummed. Looking at Dylan, it was obvious he was feeling the same way.

“You wanna?” Mitch asked. Usually, Dylan would have gone to Connor (and sometimes Mitch would have watched over Skype, or been there if they were in the same place), but now it was just him and Dylan left to take care of one another.

“Yeah, ok.” Dylan said. “We aren’t leaving until the morning anyway. Come on, I’ll smuggle you in.”

“Got a roommate?” Mitch asked.

“Nah, perk of being captain. I can choose if I want one or not. Decided to try it out on my own.”

“Nice.” Mitch said. He pulled his hat down low and slipped on Dylan’s sweatshirt. “Let’s do it.”

The hall was empty, and they had no trouble getting into the room unnoticed.

Once the door closed, it was like a switch had been flipped- Dylan was taking control and pushing Mitch back against the door, crushing their lips together in a heated kiss.

Mitch’s head lolled to the side; Dylan wasted no time at mouthing at the skin, careful to not leave a bruise. He started tugging at the hem of Mitch’s shirt (Dylan’s sweatshirt had been unzipped and on the floor the minute they’d crossed the doorframe). “Off. Take it off.”

“Geez Mr. Impatient.” Mitch said, even as his hands pulled the shirt up. Once that skin was exposed, Dylan moved his mouth down, stopping each time Mitch let out a moan or a gasp. Once he’d gotten down Mitch’s torso (to where Mitch’s dick was definitely interested in the situation), he paused and stripped off his own shirt.

“You can.” Dylan said. “You can touch me if you want- just no bruises or scratches please.”

“Ok.” Mitch said, letting his hands wrap around the back of Dylan’s neck. He tugged them backwards onto the bed, so Dylan landed on top of Mitch.

“How far?” Dylan asked. He and Mitch had never done this before by themselves, and he didn’t know Mitch’s limits.

“Uh.” Mitch flushed a little. “Everything but where you fuck me. Is that ok?”

“Sure.” Dylan said. “Whatever you want man.” Dylan wasn’t going to lie- he was just wanting to get off, and Mitch happened to be the one to help him with that. “I could blow you?”

“Sounds good.” That flush had returned to Mitch’s cheeks, and spread lower, down his neck, but it looked good on him.

“Gotta let me up then.” Dylan said.

“Sorry.” Mitch’s hands fell to the side, and Dylan took the opportunity to get Mitch to lift his hips up.

Dylan couldn’t help the predatory grin that spread across his face as Mitch’s dick was finally freed of its constraints. “Damn Marns.” He teased, taking just the tip into his mouth. Mitch blushed crimson and got a fistful of Dylan’s hair, gently pulling him down farther.

“Now who’s impatient?” Dylan asked as he pulled back, grinning as Mitch flipped him off. “I’m getting there. Hold on.”

Dylan didn’t waste any time after that; he took Mitch in all the way. It was actually pretty embarrassing how fast Mitch came; he took a second to regroup and then flipped them over and returned the favor.

“Hey. Thanks.” Dylan said when they’d both regained normal thoughts.

“Yeah. Thank you too.”

“You can stay a while, if you want.” Dylan said.

“Ok.” Mitch answered.

About an hour later, Mitch was sneaking out of Dylan’s room and heading home.

 _Don’t be a stranger_ Dylan texted Mitch the next morning.

_Back at ya_

***

The draft was here, and Mitch and Dylan couldn’t help but wonder if their mate was there. Camp would (hopefully) give them that answer.

Dylan was the next to find his mate; he gushed to Connor (and Leon), and Mitch over Skype.

“Awesome.” Mitch hoped he sounded happy enough; he was still kind of bummed that he hadn’t found his mate yet.

“You found him yet?” Connor gently asked, knowing how upset Mitch could get when the subject was brought up.

“Nope.” Mitch’s tone was short and clipped.

“He’s out there somewhere.” Dylan tried to be positive.

“Yeah, but he’s not on my fucking team yet!”

Leon, unfazed by Mitch’s outburst (Connor and Dylan were used to it by now; this was Leon’s first time seeing it), said, “Wait, you guys got that Matt Martin guy this year right? Maybe it’s him.”

“Probably not.” Mitch said. “But maybe. I’ll tell you what- I’m defying management and exposing my wrist more this year. I gotta know.”

The other three nodded in agreement. After they hung up, Mitch texted Matt (who he’d met at camp the day before). _Wanna go eat out?_

_Sure. Got to be back by 10. Member, I’m an old guy :)_

_Yes dad._ Mitch texted back, getting a winky face back from Matt. It was now or never. Time to find out if Matt was his mate.

Matt was waiting for Mitch at the restaurant. Mitch smiled and made his way over.

He felt the pulses start in his wrist as he sat down; he looked over to Matt, who was looking at his own wrist. Their eyes locked for a second, and then Mitch felt like his arm had been sliced open and then had electrical shocks going through it. His wrist glowed, and Matt’s was too. They pressed their wrists together, and the pain stopped.

Mitch saw a new line beside Matt’s initial; he looked up at Matt. “So, I guess we’re…”

“I can’t.” Matt said, standing up. “Just, I’ll see you later.” With that, Matt bolted before Mitch could even ask what was going on. Well, this certainly wasn’t how Mitch had envisioned this going.

Matt avoided Mitch the next couple of days; finally, by the end of the third day, Mitch confronted Matt.

“Kid, we’ll talk when camp is over.” Was all Matt would say. Mitch just nodded.

“Leon knew it.” Mitch said as he talked to Connor on Skype. “We bonded at the table, but then he just up and left, saying he couldn’t do it. He’s been avoiding me ever since.” Mitch lamented.

“Oh Mitchy.” Connor said.

“I don’t get it. I’m not that bad to be around, am I?” Mitch started to get a little bit emotional. “Like, why doesn’t my soulmate want to be with me?” Now the tears actually started falling as Mitch let all the emotions he had kept inside make their way to the surface.

“Marns… Mitch.” Connor said. Mitch hiccupped and looked at the screen. “It’s his loss, ok? Give him a couple days and then go find out what’s going on.”

“All… Alright.” Mitch said as Leon’s face came into view on the screen.

“Hi Mitch.” Leon said.

“Hi.” Mitch quietly answered. He heard Leon ask Connor to leave them alone for a couple minutes, and then Leon said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Mitch said. “I just don’t understand.” He started.

Leon started whispering something in German that Mitch didn’t understand, but it was soothing him, and he found himself drifting off a little.

“There you go. Sleep tight bud. We’ll call you later, ok?”

“Thanks Leon.” Mitch sleepily mumbled.

“Anytime Mitch.”

Mitch wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but he had six missed texts from Dylan, a missed call from Dylan as well, and a notification from Connor to call him when he woke up. There was also a message from Matt’s number, but Mitch ignored that one for the time being.

Mitch read all of Dylan’s messages and called him back first. Dylan made Mitch laughed so hard he could barely breathe, and then told Mitch to call him back after he talked to Connor.

“Will do.”

Mitch called Connor, who asked if Mitch had got the text from Matt.

“Yeah, but I haven’t opened it.”

“Do it.” Connor urged.

“But what if it’s just to say he hates me and doesn’t want to be my mate?”

“It’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I talked to him, alright? Well, Leon did actually. Just read the damn text!” Connor finished.

“Fine. Let me call you back.” Mitch hung up. He waited for a couple minute, finger hovering over the message. Finally, he took a deep breath and clicked on it.

_Call me when you get this. I need 2 explain some things 2 u. Why I’ve been a dick about this whole thing. This is my fault, not yours. Just call me, k? No matter what time u get this._

Mitch called Connor back. “Do you know what he means?”

“Yep. And, no, I won’t tell you. That’s between you and him.”

“I hate you.” Mitch laughed.

“You love me.” Connor replied.

“You’re my bestest buddy ever.” Mitch said. “Don’t tell Dyls I said that.”

“Noted.”

“Oh, and tell Leon thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Mitch heard Leon yell in the background.

“I need to call Dyls, then I’ll get ahold of Matt.” Mitch said.

“Good idea. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

Dylan told Mitch the same thing; he knew what Matt wanted to say, but he wouldn’t tell Mitch. “He’s your mate; this is how a relationship works. You talk shit out like adults.”

“Thanks oh wise one.” Mitch laughed.

“Skype me where you’re done.”

“Will do. I’ll conference call you and Connor. That way I don’t have to repeat myself twice.”

“Good idea. Get your man.” Dylan said.

“Planning on it.”

***

Mitch would have been lying if he said he wasn’t nervous about calling Matt; he finally dialed the number with shaky hands.

“Mitch? Is that you?” Matt’s voice was soft and calm, not at all like the last time they’d talked.

“Yeah, it is.” Mitch quietly answered. “I, uh, got your message.”

“Can we, like meet up somewhere?” Matt asked. “I’d much rather do this in person instead of on the phone.”

“Sure.” Mitch said. “There’s a diner on 3rd street that makes awesome pancakes”

“Ok.” Matt said. They made plans to meet up in ten minutes, and Mitch was wondering what Matt was going to say in person that he couldn’t say on the phone.

Mitch waited patiently for Matt to show up. As they waited for their food to arrive, Matt started speaking.

“I’m sorry I bolted on you that night. And ignored you.”

“Why’d you do it?” Mitch asked, a little more harshly than he’d intended to. “Sorry. I didn’t mean.”

“No, I deserved that.” Matt said. “I was a dick. It’s just, the realization that you were my mate was a little overwhelming.”

“I’m not _that_ special.” Mitch teased. Seeing Matt’s look, he stopped. “That’s not what this was about, was it?”

“No.” Matt said.

“Then, what is it about?”

“The age difference.”

Mitch stopped for a minute. “Wait, that’s the issue?”

“It’s 8 years Mitch!” Matt’s voice rose a level; he took a breath and spoke again, quieter this time. “That’s a lot of difference.”

“Not really.” Mitch said. “I mean, as long you love each other, age is just a number, right?”

Matt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “But, like, I could get injured and never play again. Or you could get sent down to the Marlies and…”

“Matt.” Mitch’s voice was firm, and whoa, were did that come from? “We take it day by day, yeah? I’d still love you even if I was in the minors, or if you were old and in a rocking chair.”

“Hey now.” Matt said, but he was smiling. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. And fate put us together anyway; it’s not like we got a choice in the matter.” Mitch said. “I’m willing to make it work if you are.”

“I’ll try.” Matt settled on. “It’ll probably take a while though. Just warning you.”

“Noted. I’m not going anywhere.” Mitch promised, reaching for Matt’s hand. Matt gave it a gentle squeeze.

Their food arrived, and they ate in a comfortable silence; here and there they would kind of talk about things the liked (kind of like you would on a date). Mitch watched as Matt became more and more relaxed as the meal went on.

When they were done, Mitch said, “Not to be forward, but want to come back to my place? Nothing has to happen. It’s just, I wanna spend more time with you. But I need to Skype Connor and Dylan, so they know we’ve talked.”

“Is Leon going to be with Connor?” Matt asked.

“Probably. Why?”

“I want him to see we’re good. He’s scary as fuck when he’s mad.” Matt said.

“Must be the German temper.” Mitch teased. He’d only seen Leon mad once, but, yeah, he did not want that anger directed at him. “Come on, let’s go.”

Matt insisted on paying for the meal, and they were on their way to Mitch’s place.

“I know it’s not much.” Mitch said. Matt stopped Mitch quickly.

“It’s perfect.” Matt said. “It’s so you.”

“Are you referring to my height?” Mitch teased.

“You said it, not me.” Matt laughed as Mitch flipped him off. “Hey! Is that any way to treat the love of your life?” They both burst into giggle fits at that.

“Come on,” Mitch said, heading to his laptop. He pulled Matt in, so Matt was tucked up against his side, and dialed Connor and Dylan.

Seems like they were all on the same page; Connor was leaning back against Leon’s chest, and Dylan was tight against Jakob’s side. “So, we, uh, figured things out.” Mitch said, smiling.

“Finally!” Dylan said. “It was about damn time!”

“Hey!” Matt and Mitch said in unison, laughing.

“Oh god,” Connor groaned. “What did we do?”

“Shut up.” Mitch said, chuckling. “Deal with it.”

“Please don’t kill me.” Matt said, looking at Leon.

Leon nodded. “You hurt him, I will hurt you. Got it?”

“Yes.” Matt said, reaching down to squeeze Mitch’s hand out of camera view. Mitch squeezed back.

They spent a few minutes talking and swapping stories; before anyone knew it, two hours had gone by.

“Well, we should probably go,” Matt finally said. “We have an early practice in the morning.”

“Oh, come on old man.” Mitch teased. “Just ten more minutes? Please?”

“Fine.” Matt said, then leaned in close to Mitch. “You’ll pay for that comment later.” He whispered in Mitch’s ear. Mitch flushed and turned back to the screen. “Uh, guys? I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Get it Marns!” Connor teased; the rest of them laughed as Mitch hurriedly disconnected the call and slammed his laptop closed. He turned to face Matt.

“What happened to talking it slow?” he asked, hoping he wasn’t misinterpreting Matt’s words.

“I think we can go at a medium pace instead.” Matt smiled, leaning over to kiss Mitch. It was soft and sweet, and then Matt pulled back. “But, we need to talk about something first.”

“No fair.” Mitch pouted. “You can’t kiss me and then expect me to focus.”

“If we’re doing this, we gotta do this part my way, ok?” Matt asked. “Trust me, I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us when it comes to the ‘intimacy’ part of our relationship.”

“Fine.” Mitch grumbled. “But let the record states I’m not happy about that teasing you just did.”

“Noted.” Matt said. “I’m sorry, that was kind of mean; I couldn’t help myself there for a minute.”

“Alright, Mr. ‘Let’s talk it out’, come on.” Mitch said.

“How far have you gone before?” Matt asked.

“Um.” Mitch blushed a little. “I let someone blow me before, but that’s as far as I’ve let someone go. Myself included.” Mitch felt like his face was on fire. “You?”

It was Matt’s turn to go red. “I, uh, I’ve fucked someone before, but I’ve never been fucked.”

“Alright.” Mitch said. “So that’s off the table for now.”

“Sure.” Matt agreed. “But everything else is ok?”

“Hell yes.” Mitch said. “I’ll let you know if something isn’t ok.”

“Alright.” Matt really wanted to get into more discussion, but the need to kiss Mitch again outweighed the logical portion of his brain. “We’ll talk more later. I wanna kiss you again.”

“Please do.” Mitch grinned. “I’d like it if you did it again.”

Matt smiled and leaned back in. He ghosted his lips over Mitch’s and then pressed them together. This kiss started out chaste-like at first; Mitch was the one to speed things up by running his tongue over Matt’s bottom lips in an attempt to get Matt to open up a little. It took a couple of attempts before Matt figured out what Mitch was doing, but he parted his lips a little and let Mitch take over for a few minutes.

Mitch pulled back. “Still ok?” he asked.

“Yeah. Keep going.”

Mitch leaned back in and went back to kissing Matt. This time, he fucked his tongue into Matt’s mouth, smiling as Matt’s lips parted further, and he let out a moan. “You like that?” Mitch asked.

“Yeah.”

Mitch grinned and looked at Matt. “Can I sit on your lap?” Mitch shyly asked.

“Ok.” Matt said.

Mitch climbed into Matt’s lap and started kissing Matt again; Matt was the one to rock their hips together, eliciting a moan and a gasp from Mitch.

“Do that again.” Mitch breathed out; Matt complied, and pretty soon, they were rocking into one another, and the kissing was all but forgotten.

“Too many…” Mitch started, only to have Matt’s hand go to the button of Mitch’s jeans. “Yes, please.” Mitch said before Matt could even ask.

“Lift up.” Matt said; Mitch did, and Matt got Mitch’s jeans and boxers pulled down in one swift motion.

“Yours too.” Mitch said, standing up for a minute so Matt could get his own jeans and underwear off. Once that was done, Mitch climbed back onto Matt’s lap, slowly rocking his hips down. He grinned as Matt gasped out. Mitch swallowed it with a kiss.

Mitch went back to kissing Matt; Matt was the one to keep their hips rocking together, and the one who got his hand in between the two of them to start jerking them off.

It didn’t take too long for either of them to come; Mitch came first, but Matt was only a couple of seconds behind him. Mitch continued making out with Matt until Matt pulled him back and cleaned them up (with the tissues that were conveniently on the table by the couch).

“So, that was.” Matt couldn’t finish his statement.

“Yeah.” Mitch smiled. “I’d like that to happen again.”

“Me too.” Matt said, grinning. “But I think we need a shower and a nap first.”

“Deal.” Mitch said. He stood up. “Come on, shower is big enough for two.” he smirked.

Matt smiled. “I’ll shower with you, but no funny business mister.”

“Scouts honor.” Mitch said, heading to the bathroom and starting the shower.

Once the water was nice and warm, Mitch got in; Matt waited a couple of minutes before joining Mitch (he was still trying to process everything that was going on).

Matt finally got in; Mitch reached out for him. “There you are.” Mitch said. He snuck a quick kiss, then moved them around, so Matt was under the spray.

“Can I wash your hair?” Mitch asked; Matt nodded a yes, and relaxed as Mitch massaged his shampoos into Matt’s scalp.

“Rinse.” Mitch said, pushing Matt back under the spray. While he was doing that, Mitch was soaping up his own hair.

“Switch me spots.” Mitch said. Matt did, and watched as Mitch leaned his head back and rinsed everything out.

When Mitch tilted his head back up and opened his eyes, Matt was right in front of him, and his dick was poking Mitch in the leg. Mitch laughed. “I thought you said no funny business.” He smirked.

“Changed my mind.” Matt said. “Blame your hands. They’re magic.”

Mitch smirked again. “I’ll kiss you under the spray, but that’s it. Do you know how many injuries happen from shower sex?”

“Now, who’s the old guy?” Matt teased.

“Oh, shush.” Mitch said. He leaned back under the water and pulled Matt in. They made out until the water turned cold. Matt reached behind Mitch and shut off the water. They got out and toweled off, and then went to Mitch’s room.

“I’m gonna go throw the towels and your clothes in the washer.” Mitch said. “Make yourself comfortable. There are some extra clothes in the third drawer down if you want them.”

“Ok.” Matt said.

When Mitch came back in a few minutes later, Matt was already under the blankets, and he had his eyes closed. Mitch wasn’t sure if he was actually asleep or not, so he quietly moved around to the other side of the bed and climbed in, spooning up behind Matt. Matt didn’t tense or move, so Matt figured he was asleep (but Matt could be good at faking being asleep too).

Mitch let his hand drape over Matt’s side and rest on his hip; he realized that Matt hadn’t put on any underwear before climbing in; Mitch’s dick stirred in his boxers. He quickly got his mind off that train of thought and closed his own eyes, finally giving in to the urge to sleep.

Sometime during their nap (either Matt had woken up, or, by accident), Matt’s hand had found Mitch’s, and when Mitch woke up, their hands were intertwined on Matt’s hip. Matt was waking up too, and his hand squeezed Mitch’s before bringing them up so Matt could give it a kiss. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Mitch said.

“Um,” Matt said.

“Yes?” Mitch asked. He wasn’t sure where Matt was getting at.

“You need a little help?” Matt asked. Mitch was still confused for a minute, until he looked down and realized that his dick was poking Matt in the back.

“Oh. Yeah. If you want.” Mitch said, grinning as Matt took ahold of his hand and rolled over, so he was on top of Mitch.

“I wanna.” Matt paused. “Try something different than earlier. Is that ok?”

“Sure.” Mitch said.

Matt started by giving Mitch a quick kiss; he then moved to Mitch’s neck and started worrying the skin there, smiling as Mitch’s head lolled to the side, giving Matt more access to his neck. Matt continued mouthing at Mitch’s neck for a few more minutes, careful to not leave a mark, before moving down to Mitch’s nipples. He started sucking on the left one, while his hand came up to play with the right one.

Mitch groaned and tried to push up into Matt’s mouth. Matt chuckled.

“Slowly Mitchy.” Matt said, switching sides. After a minute, he moved his mouth lower, stopping at Mitch’s hipbones, where Mitch’s boxers rested; Matt tapped on Mitch’s hip; Mitch lifted up his hips and let Matt pull the boxers off and down. Mitch nodded when Matt looked up at him.

Matt started by just taking the tip of Mitch’s dick into his mouth, before pulling off and licking a strip up the underside. Mitch groaned and tried to move, only to have Matt’s hand come to rest on his hips and pin him down.

“No you don’t.” Matt said. Mitch nodded. Matt went back to the slow, teasing licks and sucks, before taking Mitch’s dick all the way in to his mouth. Mitch couldn’t stop the moan that escaped.

“Let me hear you.” Matt encouraged. From that point, Mitch didn’t try to hold back any of the sounds; he could tell that they were helping Matt find out what Mitch liked, and they were going to Matt’s dick too.

“Matty. Gonna.” Mitch said; Matt pulled off and finished jacking Mitch off.

“Let me.” Mitch said, only to have Matt push Mitch’s hand away.

“Open up.” Matt said.

Mitch opened his mouth, and Matt pushed the head of his dick past Mitch’s lips.

“Suck.”

Mitch did, letting Matt fuck into his mouth. It didn’t take long for Matt to pull out of Mitch’s mouth and finish himself off, adding to the mess that was already on Mitch’s chest.

“Wow.” Mitch said. His voice sounded completely wrecked. “That was. Matt.”

“Yeah.” Matt said. “Me too.”

The dryer buzzer went off. “Your clothes are done.” Mitch said. “You can go get them while I clean up.”

“Ok.”

Mitch cleaned up and pulled back on his boxers; he made his way to the living room, where Matt was sitting on the couch. “You doing good?” Mitch asked. “We’re not going too fast?”

“A little.” Matt said.

“Then, let’s stop where we’re at for now and go back to the beginning.” Mitch said.

“We don’t.” Matt protested, only to have Mitch stop him with a kiss.

“We take it slow, remember? Until we’re both ok with each step.” Mitch said.

“Mitch.”

“Do I need to sic Leon on you?” Mitch teased, laughing as Matt’s mouth dropped open.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Matt laughed.

“Try me.” Mitch made a move for his laptop teasingly.

“Ok, ok.” Matt relented, smiling.

“Come on, let’s order some food and watch TV for a bit.” Mitch said.

“Alright.”

After pizza, and three episodes of _Naked and Afraid_ , Mitch said, “I’m gonna go to bed. You can come, or stay in the guest room, on the couch, or go home.”

Matt though for a minute. “I’m gonna go home tonight. Maybe I’ll stay over tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mitch said, walking Matt to the door. “Goodnight.” He said, giving Matt a kiss. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you.” Matt echoed.

***

Right after Matt left, Mitch Skyped Connor and Dylan.

“Where’s Matt?” Dylan asked.

“He went home.” Mitch said.

“Why didn’t he stay?” Connor asked.

Mitch turned pink. “We, uh, got up to some stuff, and I think we went a little too fast.” He paused. “We’re good though. Gonna try to hang out again tomorrow; he said he’d try to spend the night.”

“Take it at your own pace, not where you think you have to be at.” Connor said. Dylan nodded in agreement.

“I know guys. Thanks. I’ll let you go. I know your boys are waiting for you.”

After they hung up, Mitch looked at the calendar. Tomorrow was the day roster cuts were due- shit, no wonder Matt was a mess. They didn’t know where Mitch was going to be yet. Of course Matt would be thinking about it.

In the morning, Mitch stated the day just like he always did: shower, breakfast, coffee. This time, he texted Matt to see if Matt wanted coffee too.

_Got some. But thanx. :) See you soon._

_Yep._

When Babcock called him in, Mitch couldn’t help but think the worst.

“We’d like you to stay up for a while, see how you do.”

Mitch couldn’t stop the smile that broke out- it was _real_ now; he was getting to live out his dream of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Thank you sir!”

“Coach is fine kid.” Babcock laughed. “Go celebrate with your teammates.”

Mitch tried to keep a neutral face as he walked back into the locker room; Matt was the first one to catch him. “So?”

“I…” Mitch paused for dramatic effect. “I’m…”

“Damnit, spit it out!” Matt wasn’t in the mood to play games today apparently.

“I’m staying!” Mitch smiled.

“Seriously?” Matt asked. Mitch nodded. Matt grinned and picked him up, twirling him in a circle and then planting a kiss on Mitch’s lips. “That’s awesome. Congrats babe!” the term slipped out on accident; they both realized that everyone in the room was staring at them.

“So, I’m staying.” Mitch said.

“And we’re soulmates.” Matt added.

“Finally!” Freddie said. “You two were so obvious, it was disgusting. And I was around Getzlaf and Perry, so I know disgusting.” Everyone laughed.

After congratulations, things went back to like nothing had even been said.

“Come to my place?” Matt asked.

“Ok.” Mitch answered.

“Bring some clothes. You can stay the night.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.” Matt said. “Come on, I’ll meet you at your place in 10, and I’ll show you how to get to my place.”

Mitch all but rushed through his post-practice routine; within 30 minutes, they were at Matt’s place, and Matt was shoving Mitch up against the closed door.

“So fucking proud of you.” Matt said, crushing Mitch’s lips in a bruising kiss. “Just, way to go.”

“Thanks.” Mitch blushed. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Nothin special.”

“But you are.” Mitch quickly said.

“Wanna go make out on the couch?” Matt asked, changing the subject.

“I’d rather you fuck me against the door.” Mitch said.

“Later.” Matt got out; Mitch could tell that statement had definitely knocked the wind out of Matt’s lungs.

“Ok. Couch makeout it is.” Mitch said, grabbing Matt’s hand.

They started on the couch, Matt pinning Mitch to it; that idea was quickly vetoed, and they instead took it to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes down the hall.

“So proud.” Matt said again, before leaning down to kiss Mitch again and make out with him.

That continued for a few, until Mitch started getting restless under Matt. Matt immediately moved his way down Mitch’s chest and found himself staring at Mitch’s dick. “Can I?” Matt asked, teasing Mitch by running a hand up and down it slowly.

“Yes please.” Mitch whined. “God, yes. Fuck, Matt.”

“Good.” Matt wasted no time; this time, he didn’t pull back when Mitch came.

“You want me…” Mitch asked, reaching for Matt’s dick, only to have Matt push the hand away.

“No, I want to fuck you against the door.” Matt whispered in Mitch’s ear, chuckling as Mitch gasped and fell back on the bed. “You need a reward for making the ‘big boys’ club.”

“You ok with it?” Mitch asked. He wasn’t going to force Matt to do something he wasn’t ready for.

“Yes. Been thinking about it since the minute you mentioned it.” Matt said, eyes smoldering. “That ok?”

“Sure.”

“There’s really no sexy way to do the next part. Sorry.” Matt said as he grabbed the lube and a condom.

Mitch tensed a little as the cold lube hit his skin; he relaxed as it warmed up as Matt starting gently working a finger in. Then Matt added a second, and finally a third. He snuck kisses here and there from Mitch, and told Mitch what a good boy he was being. Then Matt was lubing up his dick and gently pressing it in ever so slowly. Mitch tried to get Matt to do it quicker, but Matt just held Mitch down in place (which was pretty hot).

Matt gave a couple of experimental rocks of his hips; when he was satisfied, he pulled out and told Mitch, “Hands against the door. Spread your legs.”

“What if I don’t wanna?” Mitch teased playfully, yelping as Matt yanked him up and pushed him toward the door. “Ok, ok, I’m going.”

“Against the wall, feet spread.” Matt said again; this time, Mitch complied without smarting back. He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning his head against the closed door, and moved his legs out as far as he could go (pushing his ass up in the air a little).

“Good?” He asked Matt.

“Perfect.”

Matt slid back into Mitch; it took a few minutes, but then he found the right rhythm.

Mitch could feel himself getting hard again; every time he thought he was going to come though, Matt backed off the pace and instead rocked his hips forward one time, changing the angle.

“Fuck. Matt.” Mitch groaned out; Matt tugged Mitch’s head back a little so he could nip at the skin of Mitch’s neck.

After a couple of minutes, Matt decided it was time to stop playing around; he took control and fucked Mitch hard against the door, reducing Mitch to mostly moans, gasps, and the occasional “fuck”.

Matt worked a hand down and started to jerk Mitch off; it didn’t take long for Mitch to come. Matt was right behind him.

Matt held Mitch upright for a minute before slowly pulling out. “Come on, shower.” Matt said, steering them both to the bathroom.

Mitch let himself be taken care of; Matt took his time and gently got them all cleaned up, whispering in Mitch’s ear how good of a job he did and how proud Matt was of him.

When Matt got them all dried off, Mitch was so relaxed that he was almost falling asleep. Matt threw Mitch one of his old Islanders tees and a pair of boxers (he didn’t feel like going all the way out to the living room right now to get Mitch’s things; Mitch would probably end up passed out in the hallway somewhere).

“Come on babe, rest. You earned it.” Matt said, climbing into bed, letting Mitch rest his head on Matt’s chest.

“Thanks.” Mitch sleepily drawled. “Love you.”

Matt froze for a minute. Sure, they were soulmates, but this was so new. He finally settled on saying, “Me too. Get some rest.” That answer seemed to placate Mitch for the time being, and they both fell asleep.

When Matt woke up, it was to an empty bed, and it had bed that way for a while, judging by how cold the sheets were next to him. Matt slipped on a shirt and went downstairs, expecting to find an empty living room and a note from Mitch. He wasn’t expecting the sight that greeted him instead.

Mitch was standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot, and there was coffee brewing. But Matt was drawn to his name on Mitch’s back the most. That looked good.

“Morning.” Matt said, making his presence known. Mitch jumped slightly at Matt’s voice, but quickly relaxed.

“Morning. I’m making breakfast. I hope that’s ok.”

“Fine by me.” Matt grinned, pouring himself a cup of coffee and siting at the table to watch Mitch finish with the food.

“You got up too early. I was going to bring it to you in bed.” Mitch said as he brought the plates over to the table.

“Bed was lonely without you.” Matt said.

“Ah, Mr. Sappy.” Mitch teased, grinning when Matt flipped him off. “And there’s that fighter I love.”

“Love you too.” Matt said. They ate in a comfortable silence, until Mitch said, “I should probably shower and get ready for practice. Don’t wanna be late on my first day as an official member of the team.”

“Yeah. Probably not the best idea.” Matt agreed. “You go, and I’ll load the dishwasher.” He snuck a kiss.

“Deal.” Mitch said. “Where do you want me to leave your clothes?”

“Just throw them in the hamper.” Matt said. He’d make sure that Mitch kept the shirt later on though.

They both showered and practiced, and then Mitch decided to spend the night at Matt’s again.

There wasn’t any sex that night- they just watched TV and cuddled on the couch; Mitch enjoyed it though. This was a softer side of Matt that no one else really got to see.

In the morning, Matt woke up first; he stared at Mitch, who was still sleeping peacefully. He was definitely falling for the kid. “Come on, up.”

“Don’t wanna.” Mitch grumbled.

“Gotta eat before practice. If you get up now, I’ll let you blow me before practice.” Matt laughed as Mitch shot out of bed.

“Deal!”

Matt made good on his promise, and Mitch made breakfast. They went to practice, and afterwards, Matt said he was gonna go home alone for a few, but then he’d come over to Mitch’s. Mitch was confused, but he agreed.

Matt was being super secretive when he finally made it over to Mitch’s place; Mitch was just about ready to commit Matt to the psychiatric ward when the doorbell rang.

“Connor! Dylan!” Mitch said, opening the door. “Leon? Jakob? What are you all doing here?” he asked. No one answered, they just grinned. Mitch turned around as Matt cleared his throat, and _holy shit._

“Mitch.” Matt started. “I know we got off to a rocky start, but there is nothing that would make me the happiest guy in the world than if you would spend forever with me.” Matt was down on one knee, and wait, _was he proposing?_

“Uh,” Mitch paused for a second, taking it all in. “Yes! Of course, yes!” he said, grinning. Everyone cheered and clapped as Matt gave Mitch the ring.

“So, we don’t have to, uh, like get married right away or anything.” Matt said. Mitch nodded.

Mitch turned back around to face Leon, Connor, Dylan, and Jakob. “Thank you guys for being here. That means a lot.”

“Of course.” Leon said.

“You would be there if we asked you to be.” Dylan replied.

“Speaking of which.” Connor said, flushing a little. “Uh, would you be in Leon’s and my wedding as a witness?”

“Yeah. When is it?” Mitch asked.

“Uh, today. Well, the signing of the license anyway. Dylan’s gonna be the other one.”

“Sure.” Mitch said. “What are we waiting for. Let’s go!”

Everything was done quickly, and by the end of it, _both_ Dylan and Connor had gotten their licenses- Dylan and Jakob had just decided to go the justice of the peace route, so theirs was a done deal; Connor and Leon were going to wait and went, then do their ceremony.

“We timed it for when you guys came to play us.” Connor said.

“We wanted you there.” Leon echoed.

“Thanks.” Mitch said. “We’ll be there.”

Everyone else left for the night, and it was just Mitch and Matt. “I love you.” Matt said.

“Love you too.” Mitch said, laying his head on Matt’s lap and pulling up the Netflix queue. “What do you think about a summer ceremony? Connor and Dylan, along with our families, can be there?”

“Sounds perfect.” Matt said. “Let’s worry about that later. I want to enjoy this ‘I just got engaged to my soulmate’ feeling a little bit longer before we both turn into groomzillas.”

Mitch laughed. “Yeah.”

They really didn’t pay attention to the movie; they were too busy making out with one another on the couch. Matt was the one to move it to the bedroom. He made sure to take his time and show Mitch how special and loved he was.

Mitch returned the favor in round two a little later, and then they went to bed.

They settled into a pattern when the season started; by midseason, Mitch had moved out of his apartment and into Matt’s house.

There were weekly (if not twice weekly) calls with Connor and Dylan, and things were going well.

Until Mitch got hurt. It was temporary, sure, but it really made Mitch wish he had his own place to go to- he was a pain when he was sick, and he didn’t need Matt fussing over him, then getting mad when Mitch told him to stop nagging.

They somehow made it work, but it was a tense couple of weeks. Mitch made it up to Matt when he was all better though.

Things settled back into the routine, and before they knew it, they had clinched a playoff spot.

“Oh my gosh. We’re playoff bound!” Mitch smiled excitedly; the blow job and awesome sex they had that night made the night that much better.

Playoffs were here, and it was a lot more intense; most days, they were lucky to make it to bed and pass out, let alone get a good night kiss in.

Then the heartbreaker of game six happened. They stayed away from each other that night, trying to process things. In the morning, things were a little better, but they were still pretty strained.

It took almost a full week for them to get back to “normal”; they decided to start planning the ceremony.

There were a lot of arguments (and compromises), but in the end, it was everything they had wanted it to be. All of their family and friends were there, and Matt made Mitch cry by writing his own vows (that was the most emotions/feelings that Mitch had ever seen Matt express).

They chose to delay on the honeymoon for a little (that was one argument that hadn’t been solved yet; they had narrowed it down to the top 5 places now), and instead took a couple of mini road trips to visit family and friends (and attending Connor and Leon’s wedding- they had to push it back with everything that was going on when Toronto had finished Edmonton).

As Mitch sat on the hotel bed, trying to catch his breath, he stared down at Matt, who was breathing heavily as well. “I’m glad it was you. That you were my soulmate.”

“Me too.” Matt said. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”


End file.
